High school physics education issues as seen by some California teachers: From content standards to critical thinking

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Color illusion

Saw it. Liked it. Enough to post it.

(I recommend downloading before showing in class so as to avoid pop-up ad distraction. You definitely want to go full-screen.)

Having posted it, I now run the risk of being deluged with the comment, "I've seen that one a million times." If that statement captures your sentiment, felicitations! And you've been spared from the chore of commenting.

Due to some flaw in my character, I hadn't seen it before and was so struck that I was compelled to share. I tried recreating it with a photo of my own and it worked, but not as well.

I'm conversant in chromatic retinal fatigue, but there's a wee bit more going on here.

The classic chromatic retinal fatigue illusion is to stare at a color negative of a US flag, for example, then at a white surface. You see a ghostly Old Glory in its standard glory.

But look at the color negative here. Seems to be just orange and blue. The orange becomes the blue sky. But the blue? Curious.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this blog are those of the post authors and commenters. They are not necessarily those of The San Juan Unified School District, The California Department of Education, Pearson Education (or any of its imprints).